Poland's Iga Swiatek could become only the third woman since tennis turned professional in 1968 to win all of her first six major finals, joining Margaret Court and Monica Seles, but Swiatek is not taking the big-hitting Anisimova lightly.
Organisers hope the anxious buildup will be forgotten when the action begins.
Young Australian opener Jake Fraser-McGurk, who made a strong impact in his IPL debut last year, has faced a tough time this season.
Serena displayed great mobility to win successive points after long rallies -- one of 21 shots, one of 13 -- and secure what proved to be a decisive break of serve.
The tournament's once-robust pool of around 300 line judges has been cut to 80 and they will serve as "match assistants", who support chair umpires and step in should the ELC -- powered by more than 450 cameras -- fail in any of the 18 courts in use.
Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff resume their simmering rivalry on the pristine lawns of London.
Novak Djokovic won a record-extending 10th Australian Open crown, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in a generational clash in the men's singles final, at Melbourne Park, on Sunday.
Ash Barty ended Australia's 44-year wait for a home winner at the Australian Open when the world number one staved off a fightback from American Danielle Collins to complete a 6-3, 7-6(2) win on Saturday and pick up her third Grand Slam title.
World number six Novak Djokovic has pulled out of Serbia's Davis Cup first-round qualifying tie due to injury.
Roger Federer is practising pain-free after undergoing two knee surgeries this year and says he expects to return to the circuit at the Australian Open in January.
DC signs Mustafizur Rahman as Jake-Fraser's replacement
Novak Djokovic was "poisoned" by the food he ingested while detained during his 2022 Australian Open visa saga.
Australia's second-most populous state of Victoria reported no local coronavirus cases on Saturday for the second straight day, boding well for the Australian Open tennis tournament due to start in Melbourne on Monday.
Carlos Alcaraz had little trouble dismantling Jannik Sinner in the Italian Open final, to snap the world number one's 26-match winning streak.
Significant pay hikes at the Grand Slams were central to the demands of the world's top players in their letter to the four majors recently.
Jannik Sinner kept alive his dream of becoming the first Italian to lift three Grand Slam singles trophies.
The Russian, 28, whacked his racket into the net five times as his frustration boiled over during his opening victory against Thai wildcard Kasidit Samrej on Tuesday.
'If we had stopped them at 210-220 it would have been better, that was a huge difference.'
Jannik Sinner's dazzling winning streak ground to a halt ahead of the French Open but the world number one's top-notch return from a three-month doping ban suggests he will be the main challenger to Carlos Alcaraz in Paris.
-German veteran Tatjana Maria defied the odds to move into the biggest final of her career when she stunned second seed and Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-3, 7-6(3) at the Queen's Club Championships on Saturday.
Sinner faces defending champ Alcaraz in hotly anticipated French Open final
India's Somdev Devvarman and Taiwan's Chang Kai-chen have landed wildcards for this month's Australian Open, the organisers said on Thursday.
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka, the most powerful player on the tour, will try to establish herself as an all-rounder with her first title in Paris.
Fonseca cruised through the first set before Fearnley found his groove in the second to level the match on a windy day in the California desert.
Nadal said his back was still bothering him against world number 56 Djere
Barty staved off a fightback from Collins to pick up her third Grand Slam title
The following are five contenders for the men's title at Wimbledon, which begins on Monday.
Novak Djokovic won 12 of the last 14 games of his match against Lorenzo Musetti to crush the Italian 6-2, 6-2 and move into the quarter-finals of the Miami Open in his best performance since the Australian Open.
Zverev also collected the keys to a shiny new BMW on his 28th birthday and will now look to leave his disappointing spell in the rear-view mirror.
Djokovic, who is ranked seventh in the world, will be on the hunt for a record 25th major title when the 2025 Australian Open begins next Sunday.
The 34-year-old practised for an hour on Thursday evening at the Rod Laver Arena and his fitness was improving "little by little, step by step", sources close to Nadal told Reuters.
Jannik Sinner was ecstatic after a victorious return following a three-month doping ban
Smoke-induced interruptions likely at season's first grand slam.
Nishikori is the latest high-profile men's player to pull out of the season's first Grand Slam following the withdrawal of Briton Andy Murray on Saturday.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis were nicknamed the 'Special Ks' as juniors
Next year's Australian Open could be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic and even if the first Grand Slam of 2021 goes ahead fans from abroad will not be able to attend, Tennis Australia chief Craig Tiley said on Wednesday. The tennis season was halted in early March due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has infected more than 3.68 million people around the world while killing over 256,000 so far.
Ukrania tennis player Yuliia Starodubtseva's home town of Kakhovka in southern Ukraine has been occupied by Moscow forces since the early days of the invasion, which Russia calls a special military operation.
Alexander Zverev was heckled by a spectator during Friday's Munich Open quarter-final and the top seed asked the chair umpire to eject the individual who alluded to domestic abuse allegations against the German.
It has been 24 days since Victoria reported a locally acquired COVID-19 infection, while Australia as a whole posted a 13th straight day without a community case on Saturday.
'We're absolutely confident the Australian Open will go ahead'
